UK's Vodafone Plc exits Indus Towers with sale of remaining 3% stake

Vodafone Plc said it will sell stake in Indus Towers via an accelerated book build offering.

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Vodafone Group Plc announced on Wednesday, December 4, that it is selling its entire remaining stake in Indus Towers Ltd. The divestment of 79.2 million shares, equivalent to 3 percent of Indus’ outstanding share capital, marks Vodafone's complete exit from the telecom infrastructure company. The stake will be sold via an accelerated book build offering, with proceeds primarily aimed at repaying debt.

UK-based telecom giant Vodafone said that the funds would first go towards repaying approximately $101 million in outstanding borrowings secured against its Indian assets. Any residual proceeds from the sale are intended to participate in a proposed equity issuance by Vodafone Idea Ltd (Vi), aimed at addressing Vi’s outstanding Master Services Agreement (MSA) dues to Indus Towers.

According to security arrangements between Vodafone and Indus, any unsold shares or unused proceeds will be allocated to guarantee Vi’s obligations under the MSAs. Vodafone said that further updates will be provided once Vi’s board of directors finalises the terms for the proposed equity issuance.

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The sale completes Vodafone’s phased divestment in Indus Towers. In June 2024, Vodafone sold an 18 percent stake in Indus Towers for Rs 15,300 crore, reducing its holding to 3 percent. India's second largest telecom firm Bharti Airtel had increased its stake in Indus Towers to 48.95 percent during that sale by Vodafone. Earlier, in 2022, Vodafone offloaded a 7.1 percent stake.

This sale concludes Vodafone’s multi-year phased exit from Indus Towers, driven by persistent pressure from lenders to repay outstanding debt. Earlier, Vodafone’s lenders, including a group of foreign banks led by BNP Paribas, HSBC, and Bank of America, had demanded full repayment of loans secured against Vodafone’s Indian assets. These borrowings were initially raised to subscribe to Vodafone Idea’s rights issue.

Indus Towers' stock price closed at Rs 359.3 on Wednesday, up 1.53 percent, ahead of the Vodafone announcement. The stock has surged over 92 percent in the last year, bringing its current market capitalisation to over Rs 94,000 crore.

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